that came up with mitt romney. his effective tax rate was so low. he was paying the capital gains tax instead of income tax so was effective tax rate was 13% or 14%. the stepped-up basis is an important point as well. you pay taxes on capital gains tax, it is based on the value of the estate when you inherited it. host: the estate tax or the capital gains tax? guest: the estate tax. host: if it's an asset, you pay capital gains. guest: right. host: we have this comment on twitter from james. guest: corporations would say the businesses are already being taxed. folk should not be taxed for investing in their business. host: double taxation. guest: that is the argument. when people die, they are being taxed again. that is the essence of the argument against the estate tax. host: can you start over? caller: a quick question about the comments of the 401(k). i used to work for a cpa firm. i understand they are income tax deferred instruments. when you take it out, the tax you pay is income tax. the assumption is the rate would be lower. let's say the ra